They asked Jesus for permission to kill

In Mark’s gospel, when Jesus’ twelve disciples are first chosen, we find something curious…the first three listed all have nicknames:

Mark 3:14-17
He appointed twelve, whom He also named apostles, to be with Him, to send them out to preach, and to have authority to drive out demons.  He appointed the Twelve: To Simon, He gave the name Peter; and to James the son of Zebedee, and to his brother John, He gave the name “Boanerges” (that is, “Sons of Thunder”)

Interesting name for James and John – “Sons of Thunder”.  I don’t believe this was necessarily a tribute to their father Zebedee, either.  In Luke’s gospel, we find a bigger clue:

Luke 9:51-55
When the days were coming to a close for Him to be taken up, He determined to journey to Jerusalem.  He sent messengers ahead of Himself, and on the way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make preparations for Him.  But they did not welcome Him, because He determined to journey to Jerusalem. 

When the disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?”

Whoa.  There’s a lot to unpack here.

You can understand why James and John are upset with the Samaritan village – after everything Jesus has done for this marginalized group during His ministry.  Jesus gave the Samaritans the clearest presentation of the gospel and had stayed with them before (John 4:1-43).  Later on, Jesus would use a Samaritan a the “good example” in one of His teachings (Luke 10:25-37), and He also had no issue healing them (John 17:11-19).  From these examples, we see Jesus’ heart toward this group of people that mainstream Jewish society routinely excluded, sneered at, and generally despised.

When Jesus’ kind feelings and actions were not reciprocated, James and John became indignant.  They wanted to administer justice, right then and there.  Even go so far as to make “an example” out of this hard-hearted town.

Did you notice whom they wanted to hand out the punishment?  They didn’t ask Jesus to do it for them.  Instead, the Sons of Thunder asked, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?”  They had every confidence in their ability to do this.  Jesus had previously given them the ability to heal and to cast out demons, so, in their minds, they were good to go, just like the prophets of the Old Testament, as soon as Jesus gave the word.

Instead of giving permission, Jesus gave them a reprimand:

Luke 9:56
But He turned and rebuked them, and they went to another village.

Jesus shut down their request, removed them from the situation, and made them walk it off.

Put yourself in Jesus’ sandals for a moment.  Two of your three top lieutenants just tried to wipe out an entire town, and do it under your authority.  How would you be feeling toward them, especially when you think of their next assignment? 

Do you still have confidence in them to represent you well, if they were out on their own?
Would you consider firing them?
Do you feel at least a little wary or guarded? 
Would you consider assigning some extra supervision before you can trust them again?

That’s not the approach Jesus took:

Luke 10:1
After this, the Lord appointed seventy-two others, and He sent them ahead of Him in pairs to every town and place where He Himself was about to go.

They were rebuked, but they were not kicked off the team.  They messed up, but they weren’t demoted.  Jesus still included them in His plans.

How often does the church side-line someone, especially someone in their teens or twenties, the moment they “mess up”?  They get treated like a child and barred from helping in any major capacity again. 

But is that what Jesus did?

Nope.  Instead, He gave them more responsibility at the next opportunity.  He sent them out to essentially be His PR Crew – and without His direct supervision!

So, come on, Church.  Give the next generation a place to lead – and possibly fail.  If/When a failure occurs, it’s on us older believers to straighten them out, pick them back up, and help them get back in the game as soon as possible.

Christ didn’t give up on James and John when they failed, and He hasn’t given up on us when we have failed Him, either.  So, let’s follow His example.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Passing down diamonds

There’s been a big change in our family this year: our younger son proposed to his girlfriend – and she said YES!  She’s a wonderful girl, and we’re thrilled for the both of them.

Our son worked hard to make sure the ring he offered was just right.  He had several conversations with the jeweler about the layout, shape, stone size, etc. as they constructed the ring.  The final design incorporated a main diamond with two smaller diamonds, one on each side.  The ring is quite pretty, and it looks good on her.

What’s special for my wife is that the two smaller diamonds came from a ring that she owns, but rarely wore any more.  The ring was a gift from her father.  He gave it to her when she was a teenager.  She’s delighted to have contributed to the new ring, being able to pass down a gift like that, now to a third generation.

This got me thinking about what else we have passed down to the next generation as our son and his bride-to-be begin to plan a wedding and rest of their lives together.  What we pass on, especially to our children, has always been an important topic to God.  You see this theme repeatedly throughout Scripture.  Here are just a few examples:

Moses speaking to the Israelites:

Deuteronomy 6:6-7
These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart.  Repeat them to your children.  Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

A psalm written by Asaph:

Psalm 78:1-4
My people, hear my instruction; listen to the words from my mouth.
I will declare wise sayings; I will speak mysteries from the past –
things we have heard and known and that our ancestors have passed down to us.
We will not hide them from their children, but will tell a future generation
the praiseworthy acts of the LORD, His might, and the wonderous works He has performed.

A psalm written by David:

Psalm 145:4
One generation will declare Your works to the next and will proclaim Your mighty acts.

Paul writing to his protégé, Timothy:

2 Timothy 2:1-2
You, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.  What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

It’s mind-blowing to think that the Creator of the Universe has given us the responsibility of sharing His reputation to the generations that come after us.  Out of all the mechanisms He could have used…He chooses to work in and through broken, flawed humans to tell other broken, flawed humans that there is more to life than being stuck as broken and flawed.

So, if we take an honest look at what we are saying and how we are living…what are we passing down to the next generation?  Is it something valuable, like diamonds?  Or is it something that just looks shiny but has no real worth?

We all have something about God we can share.  Don’t beat yourself up if you feel that what you have to offer isn’t the biggest diamond…because all the diamonds in the setting work together to make something beautiful.

Keep Pressing,
Ken